Matty Gay: Building Primo Golf, Signing Phil Mickelson, Grant Horvat & Ecommerce Apparel

In this episode of the Startup Ignition Podcast, Tyler and John are joined by Matty Gay, Co-founder and CEO of Primo Golf Apparel. Matty shares his incredible entrepreneurial journey, from working at a local country club for free golf to climbing the ranks as a product manager at foreUP. He reveals how a simple idea for golf joggers launched during the COVID-19 pandemic turned into one of the fastest-growing premium apparel brands in the industry.Matty discusses navigating early manufacturing and sizing mistakes, mastering influencer marketing with massive creators like Grant Horvath, and the surreal experience of sponsoring golf legend Phil Mickelson. Listen in for actionable advice on building a physical brand, pricing products correctly, and knowing when to take the leap to go full-time on your startup.Timestamps:(00:00:00) Matty's entrepreneurial mentality and the power of choices(00:01:02) Welcome to Episode 50 and introducing Matty Gay(00:03:31) Matty's background and the rapid rise of Primo Golf Apparel(00:06:51) Why Primo is tied for John's favorite golf brand of all time(00:08:54) Icebreaker Game: The Favorite Foursome(00:13:00) The impact of YouTube golf creator and co-owner Grant Horvath(00:17:15) Growing up in Northern California and falling in love with golf(00:18:52) Studying advertising at BYU and building the "Flip" app(00:20:25) Attending 1 Million Cups and getting a job at foreUP(00:23:51) Matty's career path from customer support to product manager(00:27:51) The origin story of Primo Golf Apparel and the need for golf joggers(00:33:48) Launching the first 250 pairs of Primo joggers during COVID-19(00:37:35) Early manufacturing mistakes and navigating sizing issues with customers(00:43:21) Building an ambassador program and doing things that don't scale(00:46:50) The inflection point: Taking the leap to go full-time on Primo(00:51:32) Securing a major retail partnership and scaling across Scheels stores(00:53:21) Understanding unit economics and pricing physical products correctly(00:57:17) Leveraging social media and influencers to scale the brand(00:59:54) Grant Horvath's bet with Phil Mickelson at the Open Championship(01:03:35) Elevating fabrics and designing for the modern golfer's lifestyle(01:05:37) Experiencing the magic and pristine operations of the Masters tournament(01:10:44) Primo's current scale, warehouse expansions, and team size(01:12:25) The surreal moment of meeting and signing Phil Mickelson in person(01:14:40) Matty's number one piece of advice for new entrepreneursLearn more about us:https://startupignition.com/linksApply to be a guest on the pod:https://startup-ignition-podcast.paperform.co/Follow John & Tyler:https://x.com/trichhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/johnrichards/Subscribe on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@StartupIgnitionFollow on X:https://x.com/startupignitionFollow on Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/startupignition/Follow on TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@startupignitionFollow on LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/school/6458758/admin/dashboard/Follow on Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/startupignition/Tags:#StartupIgnition #PrimoGolf #MattyGay #Entrepreneurship #GolfApparel #GolfJoggers #StartupJourney #BusinessGrowth #InfluencerMarketing #GrantHorvath #PhilMickelson #FounderStory #EcommerceTips #ProductDevelopment #UnitEconomics #GolfLifestyle #StartupGrind #VentureCapital #UtahStartups #BusinessAdvice